


What's in a Name?

by Linderosse



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Canon Compliant, Elvish Names, Fluff, Gen, I love how Tolkien came up with an entire language and here I am using it as a fanfic idea, Pre-Darkening of Valinor, Quenya Names, Shibboleth of Fëanor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 03:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16905312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linderosse/pseuds/Linderosse
Summary: “Káno? Are you here?” Maitimo called quietly into the library of the Fëanárion household, and was only somewhat surprised when both Makalaurë and Findekáno looked up from what they were doing and simultaneously replied, “Yes?”Makalaurë (Maglor) and Findekáno (Fingon), still young in Valinor, argue over who gets to use the nickname "Káno." Maitimo (Maedhros) is vaguely exasperated and amused in the sort of way that elder brothers tend to be.





	What's in a Name?

“Káno? Are you here?” Maitimo called quietly into the library of the Fëanárion household, and was only somewhat surprised when both Makalaurë and Findekáno looked up from what they were doing and simultaneously replied, “Yes?”

Immediately, both younger elves stared at each other, and their faces quirked into mischievous grins. Maitimo, with the ease of long practice, could see behind their smirks to the same hidden purpose: an almost instinctual cousinly drive to aggravate each other at this newfound opportunity.

“Makalaurë, your name doesn’t even have ‘Káno’ in it!” Findekáno exclaimed.

Maglor was quick to retort. “It’s short for ‘Kanafinwë,’ not ‘Makalaurë’; you know that, Findekáno. And if ‘Nelyafinwë’ abbreviates to ‘Nelyo,’ then clearly ‘Kanafinwë’ should—”

“No one calls you Kanafinwë except your father!”

“He is the only one who calls me ‘Kanafinwë’ because everyone else calls me ‘Káno,’ obviously.” Makalaurë crossed his arms, smug and unrepentant.

“What? That isn’t even correct; I heard Nelyo call you ‘Makalaurë’ at the mingling of the lights today.”

Makalaurë grinned wider. “Ah, see, you called him ‘Nelyo.’ Which means you agree that ‘Nelyo’ is a short form for ‘Nelyafinwë’ and therefore—”

Findekáno pouted. “Do you want the name ‘commander’ so badly, Makalaurë? Would you begrudge a guest of your household the title he so desires?”

“Guest or not, I’m older than you, so I got the name first. By pure technicality, the nickname ‘Káno’ belongs to me.”

“You wound me.” Findekáno sighed dramatically and threw himself back down on a chair. “I consider myself betrayed, Makalaurë. Betrayed by my very own cousin: how shall I ever live past the shame?”

“It’s only a nickname, Findekáno,” Makalaurë pointed out, somewhat hypocritically.

“Then can I have it?”

“No.”

Findekáno cast a pleading glance at the doorway. “Maitimo, help!”

Maitimo, who had been watching them with an air of general amusement, waved dismissively. “Oh, no, do continue. I’ll just listen in as this becomes as contentious as the ‘Þerindë’ debate. Perhaps we can even _politicize_ this one like the ‘Þerindë’ issue. I can already hear the townspeople whispering: ‘The princes of House Fëanáro and House Nolofinwë are battling for ownership of the nickname ‘Káno.’ Whoever wins, the other side is sure to be displeased.’”

A contemplative look stole its way onto Maitimo’s face as he continued. “In fact, why don’t we just initiate a conscious linguistic split on this as well? Perhaps the Fëanárions can pronounce Káno differently than the Nolofinwions, and then we shall know who is being referred to by the way the word is spoken. Soon, the two words will begin to have different connotations as well, and then both of you shall have your coveted titles, albeit customized slightly. A simple plan, taking advantage of natural language drift, and I think it could work, given some effort and a lot of time. What do you think? Would you like to try it?”

Findekáno and Makalaurë stared at Maitimo, and then glanced wearily at each other.

“Trust Maitimo to make a grand plan even for something like this,” said Findekáno in exasperation, as Makalaurë shook his head at his brother’s antics and conspiratorially asked his cousin, “Truce?”

The younger elf nodded, and Maitimo smiled fondly at his family as the two of them ignored him completely and returned to work, stopping every now and then to whisper to each other. He caught snatches of their conversation as he went to find the materials he had come for. Both of them were using “Káno” to refer to each other, its every utterance accompanied by quiet laughter over the shared name. Clearly, Findekáno had found another friend in the Fëanárion household, and for that, Maitimo was glad.

At least, Maitimo thought wryly as he left the library, _he_ wouldn’t have to deal with anyone sharing _his_ nickname.

####

Findekáno skipped down the hallway with a carefree joy that Maitimo only partly envied.

“By the way, Maitimo, who _were_ you referring to when you called for ‘Káno’?”

“Hm? Oh, I was calling Makalaurë, unfortunately for you. He’s right, we do call him ‘Káno’ quite often. And I’ve known him since he was born, so that’s a fair amount of time for me to get used to the name.”

“Oh, fine,” Findekáno pouted. “He can have ‘Káno,’ and you can call me ‘Finno,’ alright?”

“Finno?... I like it. I shall endeavor to call you by that all the more often, then.”

Findekáno tugged one of Maitimo’s braids playfully. “Well if you are to be calling me by a hair-related nickname, then I’ll refer to you by one as well. I have found the perfect one, you know, after all the time I spent thinking about this earlier. I’ll call you Russandol! Because of your red hair, of course, which becomes you wonderfully, rare though it may be. What do you think? Can I call you Russandol?”

Maitimo sighed as he reconciled himself with the fact that his family’s penchant for naming things had once again caught him in its trap. He shrugged.

“Alright, why not? I suppose there are worse things to be called.”

Findekáno's answering smile was blinding, and privately, Maitimo thought that that alone made everything worth it.

####

Centuries later, after ‘Nelyafinwë’ and ‘Maitimo’ no longer described him, and after the name ‘Maedhros’ was soaked in blood and misery, he stood atop a crevice in the earth and fell, and the last of Russandol burned away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and please leave a Kudos or a comment if you enjoyed it! I've been writing for a while, but I'm just starting out here, and I'd appreciate any feedback I can get. Have a wonderful day!
> 
> Note: Fellow archiver Verasa has been kind enough to translate this fic into Russian! You can find the translated fic here: https://ficbook.net/readfic/8407999.
> 
> If you're curious, this fic is derived from the Shibboleth of Fëanor in the History of Middle Earth. Maglor Kanafinwë does canonically have the nickname “Káno,” and it isn’t a stretch to think that Findekáno might have been referred to in his household by the same nickname, since both Kanafinwë and Findekáno contain the same root “káno” meaning “commander,” and the other root “finde-” in his name can either mean “skilled” or “hair,” neither of which would probably strike Fingon as cooler than “commander.” The name was originally given to him to keep the same sound “fin” in his name as his grandfather Finwë, so “Finno” might be an acceptable compromise.
> 
> The name Russandol, which means “copper-top,” was also canonically given to Maitimo “by his brothers and other kin,” which I am here interpreting as: Fingon started it, and it caught on with the rest of them really fast. I’m assuming this happened before the twins Amrod and Amras were born, as their actual mother name, Ambarussa, literally does mean “copper-top.”
> 
> The Þerinde debate gets a pretty interesting discussion in The Shibboleth of Fëanor. It basically details how Fëanor politicized the heck out of a conscious linguistic change of the Noldor. The Fëanorians therefore pronounce some ‘s’ sounds as ‘th,’ in keeping with their original pronunciation in the language, while the rest of the Noldor (but not the Teleri) say ‘s’. It was a fun time for everyone involved, which basically means that everyone got really angry over not only what the Feanorians were saying, but also how they were saying it. This concept, I believe, was stolen from a real world language (I think Hebrew?), but I’m not qualified to talk about that.


End file.
